He encouraged them to interact at length with students and teachers in this regard, the statement said.PTI New Delhi | Posted : Oct 13 2017 1:50AM | Updated: Oct 13 2017 12:00AM

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that Governors can become catalytic agents for change in the society while upholding the sanctity of the Constitution.

Addressing a conference of Governors at Rashtrapati Bhawan here, he mentioned the target of ‘New India’ by 2022 and emphasised that this can be achieved only by making it a people's movement, a PMO statement said.

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He also said that the Governors can “motivate” banks to give loans under Mudra scheme to tribals, dalits and women, especially in the period between Constitution Day on November 26 and Ambedkar Mahaparinirvana Diwas on December 6.

He encouraged them to interact at length with students and teachers in this regard, the statement said.

Giving the example of the recent Hackathon conducted by the central government where students had proposed technology solutions to several problems, the Prime Minister said that universities should be centres of innovation.

In the same vein, he said youth in every state must focus on one sport, the statement said.

Modi also encouraged the Governors to lead by example on the cause of cleanliness, it added.

He said Mahatma Gandhi, whose 150th birth anniversary will be celebrated in 2019, is a source of inspiration, “as we work towards an Open Defecation Free India.”

The Prime Minister said that festivals and anniversaries can be great motivators and energizers in the quest for change, the statement said.

He also encouraged Lt. Governors of Union Territories to share the best practices being adopted by them in areas such as solar energy, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of subsidies, and making Union Territories kerosene-free.

He said these achievements must be extended across all Union Territories speedily, the statement said. PTI